← Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel
Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel
Rush Hour's Dave Neal Breaks Down the Biggest Pop Culture Stories You Missed This Week
01:16:20
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- [00:00]
Rachel Yucatel
Today on Misunderstood with Rachel Yucatel.
- [00:03]
Dave Neal
There's no way in the world a jury is going to think that her allegations meet what they're going to see with their own eyes. I've said this about Blake Lively, her PR person. They created this fake lawsuit just to extract these text messages. And then the second they got the text messages, they dropped the fake lawsuit.
- [00:26]
Rachel Yucatel
Don't you think that also all this stuff keeps backfiring her and makes her look worse and worse and worse?
- [00:34]
Dave Neal
There was an employee who was just exposed undercover admitting that the Republicans plan was to redact their names from the Epstein files. And the reason they caught him, they used this lady on a dating app to match with this guy and they went on a date. I'm gonna go to bat for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Americans, we should have rallied. Like, we got Prince Harry. We got the good one. We got the one with the hair. I think we like to build sand castles and then we like to kick. She's starting to take this, this idea. She's like, I'm just a mom in the basement. It's like, no, you're Candace Owens. You're the Joe Rogan of conservative podcasting. Do you ever have any bitterness that your fame came before the time when a lot of people were cashing in on it?
- [01:31]
Rachel Yucatel
Every once in a while on Misunderstood, I like to hit pause on the interviews and bring in who can help us zoom out. Someone who can break down the whirlwind of stories dominating pop culture, the headlines we're all talking about, and the ones we probably should be paying more attention to. And right now, nobody does that better than today's guest, Dave Neal. Dave is the host of the Rush Hour podcast, a twice daily, fast moving pop culture and entertainment news show with a massive following. If there's something happening in Hollywood, the reality TV universe, the influencer world, or the courtroom, Dave knows all about it. He has the receipts and he's already covered it before. Most of us have had our morning coffee. And today he's here to unpack all of it with us. He gets into a story he's been covering obsessively. The Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively situation, which, yes, is still developing and yes, is still heading to trial early next year. Just when you think it's getting repetitive or you've heard it all, there's new information, new filings, new twists. Dave breaks down what's real, what's hype, and what's coming next. We dive also into the latest with the Epstein files. What's been released, what what's been buried and what still doesn't add up. We talk about Candace Owens, Meghan Markle, the Kardashians, and why on earth Britney Spears is suddenly hanging out with them again. Is it random? Is it strategic? Is it chaos? Dave has his opinions. The episode is a full pop culture sweep. Sharp, funny, and actually informative. And if you don't already know Dave Neal, you'll be very glad you get the next hour with him. He gives us the perfect roundup of everything happening right now in entertainment and beyond. So let's get into it with Dave Neal. Dave from the Rush Hour podcast. So exciting to have you here on Misunderstood. How are you?
- [03:47]
Dave Neal
Good. Thanks so much for having me. This is a. You got a great set there. I've heard such good things. So it's good. It's good to chat.
- [03:53]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah. Well, I love having shows like this every once in a while where we have an expert come on and talk all things like recapping pop culture, news in the world, things that we should know. And you seem to have a lot of the inside scoop, so I wanted to hear from you. So I'm loving your show. I found you because I guess when I had Lauren on, right. We started talking after that and it was so fun to get to see who you were and what you did. And I just love it. But how did you even get into this, into this world?
- [04:25]
Dave Neal
So I started by covering Bachelor almost like a decade ago. And I used to call it like a guy's review because there weren't many men covering the show. And I actually liked to cover Bachelor because I like the human element. I like talking relationships. I do that as a stand up comedian, talk about my relationship a lot. And that kind of spread to other conversations outside of the Bachelor, where we use the Bachelor as kind of like the common denominator. But we started talking about who was breaking up with who, who cheated on who, and I kind of like was, you know, expanded from that world to just covering, you know, pop culture in general, politics and kind of everything, you know, because in today's world, politics, pop culture, it's all really meshed together. Every conversation is like this water cooler moment that the, you know, the country gets a hold of, like that big whatever that big conversation is, and it kind of flows. So we're kind of like nomadic in the sense that we just kind of follow the big story of the year and then all of the little stories that accompany it.
- [05:27]
Rachel Yucatel
Right. So had you not done a podcast before? Were you Familiar with podcasts. Like, what made you say, oh, I want to have a voice that matters?
- [05:35]
Dave Neal
Well, podcast. I mean, when I got involved early on, podcasting was so new that I did. I actually had a podcast just that talked about relationships and it was like your standard conversational, like, you know, different guest every week and, and which was, you know, went, went fine. But I think what I learned was for me personally, what, what my audience is into is like they'll see something play out on tv. Let's see what Dave's opinion is, which isn't. I generally am not like a wild. I don't come out of things out of left field. It's. I usually have the kind of saying that everyone's trying the best with the info they have. But what you see on different shows or networks like Bravo is you see the reward mechanism for people to act poorly. And that's the, that's reality tv. You want your show to get a second season. What are you willing to say or do at the reunion episode to just like light it on fire and you know, we cover it knowing, knowing that it's kind of like always an extension of reality, but not necessarily reality.
- [06:38]
Rachel Yucatel
Right. So you said you were a comedian before. First of all, do you still do that?
- [06:41]
Dave Neal
Yep, yeah, yeah, I, I tour and I kind of get up where I can and you know, they're, they're sort of like, it's like a Venn diagram. They're different worlds, like, but they, they do intersect. I'll have, you know, audience come support me in different places. But sometimes we're covering a story that's very, very serious. You know, in this last year we covered a paternity lawsuit where I was sued over my coverage over it. Of it. And then there's other stories that are a lot more, I don't know, irrever a Tom Sandoval. That story was harmless in the sense that everyone was roasting this guy, but it was still kind of fun in a lot of ways for people because they were all part of putting someone in their place. So depending on the nature of the story, kind of depends on the mood I bring to it. But with standup, it's way more kind of self deprecative, let's all have a good time, date night type of thing.
- [07:33]
Rachel Yucatel
Okay. Amazing. So I imagine you were a huge fan of the Bachelor. Were there any other reality shows that you used to love or that you love now?
- [07:41]
Dave Neal
You know, that one was interesting because there's, there's old school shows like Survivor where you're pulling apart the human elements, the deceiving natures of the show. Anything to win. Bachelor's kind of like that in a way where you're. You're kind of saying what you need to say to stick around, knowing that the. It's such a false idea that you're going to actually find the love of your life in two weeks. So Bachelor was kind of like the original big reality show, so that's why I stuck with it. You know, I'll cover A Love Is Blind Mind or Temptation Island. I'll cover these different shows. When word of mouth gets out, like, this is a season you have to watch. And I think that's what makes reality TV so good, is that there's so much of it that you kind of can dive in. Like, people will be like, oh, you gotta watch Summer House, you know, Charleston this year, and whatever. And it's funny to think that there's so much good reality out there that it's. It's. It's kind of like you kind of have to, like, pick your niche because you can't cover it all.
- [08:39]
Rachel Yucatel
It's so true. I mean, listen. I've gotten obsessed with Love is Blind. I always thought that they should have one, though, for, I mean, listen, I'm 50, and I'm getting married at the end of the year. But before. Thank you. Before that, I was like, why can't they have people that are, like, trying to find their second act of their life? Maybe someone who has a past who's been in the news before? So, like, people that I interviewed on my show, we wanted to do A Love is Blind, like, me, Kathy Griffin, Renee Graziano. I don't know if you know who I'm talking about, but, like, all people who have been in the news and, like, if we go on a date, we had a hard time going on a date because people were like, don't I know your name from the news? Like, so we thought, how great would that be to meet someone with a wall between us? And they fall in love with our personality, and then they get to see who we. Who we are, and the fact that they knew us in the press from something. So, anyways, then I met a guy, and now I'm engaged, so I don't care about it so much. But I do love those shows. And I've been on a few reality shows. I was on Celebrity Rehab.
- [09:40]
Dave Neal
Wow.
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Rachel Yucatel
I was on Millionaire, Matchmaker, and I feel like I've been on a couple others, and now I'm, like, forgetting which ones they were, but, like, as a guest or whatever, you know what I mean? And my experience with reality TV is so different because, like, when I did Celebrity Rehab, I was the only person who wasn't. Like, I didn't come from being a celebrity. I came from the fact that I was in the biggest story of the time at the time. So people wanted to know who I was. But it was all, like, actors or whatever that were dealing with, like, a drug addiction. And I didn't have one. Mine was like love addiction. But I loved doing it because there was nothing forced. And it was literally what happened was what aired. And I found it fascinating and I love it. And I'm still close friends with a lot of those people, but I've seen how it changes and how it's also a different type of show. But, you know, I've had so many reality stars on my show, and I know so many, and they have become that character. Do you know what I mean? And then they try their hardest to be some scandalous person that in their own lives they've just become a mess or they can't live the same life on camera and off camera. Do you follow what I mean?
- [10:55]
Dave Neal
Absolutely. And, you know, this is even, even someone like Heath Ledger, he, he, he took his life or, or had drug addiction after playing the Joker. And there was like, they found these notes of him just like, writing as the Joker and that vicarious feeling that you can get playing someone even if you're aware of it. We used to take enacting, like a scene study class, and afterwards you always had to hug each other. And our teacher was very much like, trying to get people in tune with, like, getting your energy back to neutral. It can be very challenging not to bring your work home with you or become the thing you're rewarded for. I always talk about Tom Sandoval and, you know, he gets, you know, he was the biggest story in the world for, like, probably a year there. And I always said, well, yeah, you can all be mad at him, like, he did a bad thing, he cheated, of course, all of that. But at the same time, for like a decade, his reward mechanism was like being a part of a toxic culture. So as audience, it's like, if we're going to step into the Coliseum and cheer these people on, what part are we doing in it? And how can we ethically be okay with it, but then, like, wipe our hands after and stay at it? Their dms, I always say it's like the Yellowstone effect. Like, go visit the bison, but stay in your car. And what we notice, a lot happens. Bravo is bad with it. Bachelor fans are really tough. Is that we get that parasocial relationship that we want to mom shame people and treat them a certain way because we watched a version of them play out online. And it would be a lot healthier if as audience, we kind of separated ourselves from them and, like, watched it, enjoyed it, consumed it, but, like, laid off the judging because God knows what they go through after that fame. It's got to be very tough. You know, they get CPS called on them. They get. They get crazy. I'm sure, you know, like, crazy things that are never. And it's always by, like, you know, some white woman with a, you know, Jesus cross on her neck. And it's like, chill out. People. Like, this version of reality you're watching, it's for tv. It's. It's an extension of reality, but it's not the full story. Like, calm down.
- [13:03]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah, I agree. I will say, though. And we've seen a lot of crossover. Like, we'll talk in a second about how different characters from different shows are now going on different shows, and all the worlds are starting to blend. But the, you know, BravoCon just happened. And to look at some of the video that came out and commentary that came out of there. These housewives, these random reality stars who were not famous before they were on air, are acting like they are Angelina Jolie's of the world. And people are rushing up to them, like, crying, like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. It's my big. You know, I'm your biggest fan. And so it's. I think it's very hard to step away from that Persona because you. You know, I've known a couple reality stars who have been off air for many years and still love that attention. I mean, if they don't walk into a restaurant and people are running up to them being like, you are my favorite on Housewives of OC or whatever, they kind of get into a bad mood. Like, they still. And it's the same thing. I know plenty of foreign. They are stuck in that mentality of being who they were when the crowds loved them. So I think it becomes a very sick thing because you almost forget who you are. But to get into, like, what I was just about to say with the worlds colliding, I mean, a lot of things got announced. You said that they brought up that Tom Sandoval was thinking of doing being on the Valley. Right. Which was not received very well.
- [14:26]
Dave Neal
Yeah, it was just a funny Clip where he was like, you know, doing a live panel at BravoCon. And he was like, I don't know. I'm thinking about doing the Valley. Should I do it, guys? And the audience was like, no. And I just think it was. It was a funny response. And, you know, it's like, well, may, maybe. Maybe he would be great on the show. I don't know. It's like, I don't know. I don't necessarily know if audiences know what they actually would want, because right now you've got the new season of Vanderpump Rules, which hasn't come out yet. And everyone's like, oh, my gosh, this is going to suck. And it's like, well, if they use the same formula they used to make the first version, they're going to have a new cast. And maybe, you know, maybe they're onto something with, like, you know, centering a reality show around, you know, up and coming Hollywood folks at a restaurant or whatever. So like you said about, about people not being able to overcome that celebrity, there's definitely something that attracts a certain personality type to reality. And like, sports, like stars, there's just a short shelf life. And if you're known for that accolade, then it's like, it's got to be very hard to exist in society when your bread's not getting buttered anymore for that. And that's why I look at someone like Pam Anderson. I mean, she's like, she's like, happy to live in Malibu and have her own garden. And it's like, God bless her. I love, like, the. The spiritual mission Britney Spears is on to try to, like, go back, like, live her, you know, which. Her life that would have been, you know, And I don't know if she'll ever attain that because she is so. Has so much celebr. But I think audiences have a hard time empathizing. They go, what are you talking about? This is what you signed up for. And it's like, listen, you could say that all day long, but we're all humans. And there is something beautiful about going to the grocery store anonymously. And a lot of them don't have that luxury to just have a bad day or, you know, pick their nose at the airport or whatever. And that, like, over time, leads to them being, like, I don't know, bitter. It just, it just leads to a lot. And it's. And it's interesting because, like, I've been in the Screen actors guild for 15 years. You, you, you. You get hired to play A role. No one judges you when that role's over. You know, Emma Stone doesn't get judged for whatever, you know, and yet with reality stars, they take that baggage with them. And like I said before, I think it would just be healthier for everybody if these shows had, like, a disclaimer like, this is. What you see is edited and some scenes are recreated, whatever, because, like, yeah, you've been in it. A lot of it is you. But at the same time, you're. You know, you're. You're part. You're. We're all. We all act a certain way when the lights and cameras are turned on. And. And that's what makes the show good. But it's like, I think as audience, we need to be smarter in today's world to know, like, come on, like, chill out. You know, just people.
- [17:15]
Rachel Yucatel
For sure. For sure. All right. Another thing they announced at Bravicon was there's going to be a Real Housewives of Rhode Island. I guess it was. Everybody was talking about it beforehand. They finally showed the trailer. My opinion of the trailer is that it looks like a replacement for Housewives of New Jersey. What was your opinion?
- [17:33]
Dave Neal
So Rhode island, okay, I'm from Rhode Island. There's, like, two counties. We get one. We get, like, one representative. It's a small state. We have one zip code, basically, right from the 401. It's. Nobody that I saw in that trailer, I think, is from Rhode Island. Like, there's. There's the Italian area outside of Providence, and then there's, like, the Irish area and, like, the Newport area. That's where I'm from. And it's. You know, you've got a bachelor alumni, Ashley Iconetti, and I think she's actually from Virginia. Her husband Jared is from Rhode Island. Rhode island is a. It's a good landscape because you've got this old money that comes from the Gilded Era. All of the rich billionaires, you know, had their summer mansions in Newport. So you've got this kind of, like, people come to Rhode island to. To watch the polo matches and walk through Newport and look all, like, a certain way. So there is that kind of nice aspect of it. But what I was told is that a lot of the places that you would want to shoot at didn't want anything to do with Bravo. You're not getting, like, you're not going to see the area where, you know, Taylor Swift bought her $30 million home. That's like, you know, there's. There's the. The real money won't Be touched. And then there's kind of the people that come in for the weekend from New York. And I think that's why it will be kind of like Jersey, because Rhode island summer Rhode island is Jersey light. It's like this weird estuary that is massholes in Jersey that come together. So for that reason alone, I think it would be off the rails. Like Rhode island is kind of like quirky like that.
- [19:08]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah, I love that they have like a sugar baby. They have all different angles of women this time around, but they all look like Dolores, who oddly enough is a guest on, does a guest appearance on the show, or at least in the trailer. So it'll be interesting to see how it does. You know, it's funny, people have mentioned before, like, oh, there are so many women who are real women of whatever place, you know, Rhode island being one that didn't really want to be in it. So they took these people who are not really from Rhode Island. Okay, I get it. Or they didn't want to film in the real places of Rhode Island. I live in Palm Beach. They've been trying to do a Real Housewives of Palm beach or something similar here, but on the island you cannot film. So they've had to go around it and do all sorts of things. I think Netflix is about to come out soon with, I forget the name of it, but some sort of a show that has to do with it. None of those women are from Palm Beach. They're all from Miami and Boca and whatever. So it's interesting. But like, would we really care about those? Massively, you know, the women who are the biggest socialites in those areas, they're boring. I don't think they have anything exciting to show on tv and they live a certain life that like, we wouldn't find interesting because it's not made for television. Do you know what I mean? So I think you do have to find those people that are willing to act out, willing to be funny, because it is entertaining, you know.
- [20:28]
Dave Neal
Oh yeah. And they, and they know what they're signing up for as far as delivering. Yeah. Like you said, if you're, if you're, you know, someone who's got a lot of money, you know, you're probably very protected and you don't, you don't want to necessarily like ruin a good thing that's happening. So I can see people with Bachelor, it's hard to find a lead that's worth doing it because if you're like a 33 year old guy who's got a great Job in New York. You don't want to go on the Bachelor. You're already living the dream. So it does. It is tough to find someone who's going to play the part. But also, you know, it's kind of like you're not going to find the old money people. You're going to find the new money that are trying to have a good time.
- [21:06]
Rachel Yucatel
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- [23:08]
Dave Neal
You're so right. And I'm. I'm lucky enough with Comedy that the. The thing that makes something funny on stage is that is the honest truth. So so many of my friends, we just talk about how broke we are or whatever issues we have. Like, I remember. I remember I was at this photo shoot back in LA when I lived. I lived in LA for years, and there was this guy talking a big game where, you know, like, just talking about all of the things he's got going on. And then the next day, I went to go buy a baseball hat at Lids, and he was working there. Nothing wrong with that. I was doing. I was working Uber. Right. But, like, you think everybody else has this, like, amazing life, and then you realize we're all. We're all doing our different struggles in whatever, you know, side projects till we get our thing off the ground. And it is that kind of lifestyle where you don't always want to lead with that. But with comedy, you just, you know, know those. Those stories of failure are the stories that make an audience relate to you, which makes you perform better because.
- [24:00]
Rachel Yucatel
Right.
- [24:00]
Dave Neal
You know, what do they say? Cool is the enemy of funny. So. But yeah, like, in these types of worlds, Bravo. I mean, there is that one couple that, you know, they were, you know, doing tax. They got arrested for, you know, for faking a. A robbery so they could claim, you know, jewelry on their, you know, insurance claims. And. And it's like, geez, are you talking.
- [24:20]
Rachel Yucatel
About PK and Dory?
- [24:23]
Dave Neal
I believe so, yeah. And it's like, completely, like, flying too close to the sun there.
- [24:30]
Rachel Yucatel
And I love that you say that because it actually was never proven that they faked it. But everyone obviously thinks that, and it's.
- [24:39]
Dave Neal
Working its way through the system right now, right?
- [24:40]
Rachel Yucatel
I. I think so. Unless we're. Unless you're talking about a completely different one. But, you know, I think for a year there, nobody liked to admit that that was fake. And then now the. The. You know, most people believe that that was completely staged. Cause they got a divorce and all sorts of things. So, you know, it's funny to see how that kind of stuff plays out. But again, I think a lot of the reason people want to live on their high horse and be like, I would never be on those shows because I live such a great life. No, you'd probably never want to be on one of those shows because they found out that you don't own. You rent, that you don't have that kind of money. You know, it's not yours, it's your parents or whatever, or you're living paycheck to paycheck so. So I think that there's a lot of smoke and mirrors, so I applaud the people that do do it. I just hope they come to play with, like, an end game, like a book, hair, extension line, whatever, because that's what they have to put their money in because they're not getting paid a lot of money. That's the other misconception. You think you're getting paid a lot of money. It's like, you know, it's like $5,000, your first episode, you know.
- [25:39]
Dave Neal
Oh, yeah. I mean, it's all about opportunity. Which actually wanted to ask you because you. Your fame, you know, Like, I've got a. I've got a friend from the Bachelor who. She was famous before Instagram. Do you ever have any, like, bitterness that you. Your fame came before the time when a lot of people were cashing in on it?
- [25:56]
Rachel Yucatel
Yes. A hundred percent? Yes. Because I feel like my name was bigger or as big as some of the most famous people's names for quite a while still. My name precedes me, you know, in a room. And of course, I didn't get to cash in on it. It became a stigma, became something that people, you know, were like, oh, this is. I don't wanna be seen with that. Now you get a girl, like on the Mormon Wives, who was known as being a swinger, and now she's the girl on the Bachelor or the Bachelorette. So people are just leaning into that and, like, the more scandal, the better. Now, that might be because ABC is having a really hard time, and they decided that this is the way they needed to go and lean into it. But, you know, I came way before my time in terms of. Of being able to cash in on anything, because I can tell you unequivocally, I've never been able to cash in on anything. I got. The only thing I ever got paid for was doing Celebrity Rehab. I think that I got paid more than anyone in reality TV has ever been paid. I was paid $400,000 to do that, which was what is like two and a half weeks. And because of it, I got sued. Even though I had 80 pages of documents saying they couldn't bring up anything from a golf ball to a scandal I was in. And we followed those rules, and I still got sued for it. So at the end of the day, it wasn't worth it. But for me, I actually needed it. I felt like I had become a recluse. I didn't have anyone to talk to, and I felt like I really had someone in Dr. Drew that could help me to the point where here we are, however many years ago. That was 15 years ago now, let's say 16 years ago, he's invited to my wedding. Him and his wife.
- [27:38]
Dave Neal
Wife.
- [27:38]
Rachel Yucatel
So it like, worked in terms of. I found a lifelong friend from that.
- [27:43]
Dave Neal
You know what's great too? And you, you might have had PR people, they're. They're so old school the way a lot of traditional PR works, that in a lot of ways they'll give you bad advice. But I, I would tell you the same thing, like, go do as much TV and, and get as much exposure, because in the end, especially at that time, the monetization tools weren't there. But at least you can have your name be associated with things that, that, you know, you have more control over. And, and in today's world, it's like, you know, you can, you can make money on Patreon podcasting only fans, live events. You. There's so many. Like, there's, like, in comedy, there's never been more millionaires. There are thousands of comedians that are millionaires and many of whom names you wouldn't even know because they're able to go directly to their fans, which, you know, is what you. It's really about control. That's what everyone wants. You know, you go and you get, you get all these people on reality shows. Why do they all do podcasts? Because they want to have control over, over what was edited and they want to say their piece and, and it doesn't always lead to success. But, you know, Bethany Frankel, like, she, she was the one who could show there's a lot of money that can be made by associating yourself with brands. And they're like the different tiers that we have are like, promoting a product which, like my podcast, we get tons of advertisers. But then, then the next level is like creating your product. What really builds wealth is that Logan Paul's billionaire because he created a type of Gatorade prime energy drink. Now he makes Lunchables. And so you get to that level where, you know, we're going like, directly from fame to consumption, just. Just because people trust, like, whatever your expertise is. And, and I always think about that, like, if I was really successful, like, really where, like, I could have a team of people say, like, what do you want to make? I don't know what that is, but it's fun to think about because that's in, in the, in the world we're moving to with technology AI And a lot of jobs getting replaced, which is absolutely happening faster than people knew. Creation is the only thing we're going to have, whether it be creating entertainment or creating product. And all we can do now is build that newsletter, build an audience, that Instagram to the point where we'll have something to sell.
- [29:52]
Rachel Yucatel
Right, Right. Yeah. It's fascinating to think about. All right, so another thing that we've been following, or I've been following on, let's say TikTok, is all the shows that are out. There was a lot of hype going into Kim Kardash being in All's Fair with this amazing cast, and then it completely flopped. So what's your inside scoop about all that?
- [30:12]
Dave Neal
Well, my initial thought when it got a zero rotten scores is I looked it up because whenever. Whenever, like, my wife and I sit down and watch tv, it's like, I'll tell her the ver. If I. If I want to watch a show, I'll tell her the. The score that's higher, whether it's the tomatometer or the audience score. But I generally believe audience score over tomatometer. So at the time, she had a 0%, but there were only eight reviews. So I'm still holding my breath at that time. But she's working with people that are hit makers. Ryan Murphy, I mean, he's got like a. He's like the. The gay man's run to Shimes. He's got. He's all. He's got like every. Nashville, 9 11. He got a ton of shows, and I've worked with him in the past, don't know him personally, but he's very stylized. So I could. So I guess. I guess the deal is this. Whether you're Kim Kardashian or anybody else, a good script with, like, even mediocre acting can do well. So because it's. Because he's a highly stylized person, I'm sure he took a risk and it just didn't pay off, which happens. But just having Kim Kardashian, even if it has bad ratings, that might be better PR than if it had, you know, like a 0% score might be better for a show than a 40% score, because we're talking about it, so. But you said it was terrible, right?
- [31:31]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah. I couldn't get through more than just a little bit of it, to be honest with you, but I couldn't. I also was shocked that she was acting alongside of some of the greatest actors. I mean, I thought that that was, like, insane. I would have thought that if it were Me, I would have been petrified. I wouldn't have been able to perform well. You know, it's not like we hear about her getting, you know, acting coaches and spending all this time acting. We also saw her on Saturday Night Live. She was able to hold it together and do it really well. I mean, it is kind of fascinating, right? So. But this time, it almost seemed like she was reading cue cards. It was very uncomfortable to watch. But then again, you know, you see like a Bethenny Frankel, who I think has done a couple, like, Hallmark movies. Do you know what I mean? Like, she does those holiday movies once in a while. I think she played someone's mom. I feel like they're able to level up and kind of get through it. Maybe somebody tells them exactly how to read the line, but this one, I really think backfired. And I. I mean, I feel like it's a little embarrassing for her.
- [32:32]
Dave Neal
Yeah, I mean, she's. She's. She's such a huge name that I don't think it's like an affect her, you know, finances with whatever other products she's making. I think skims was just valued at several billion dollars. So she just like shits money. But it just goes to show, though, you can have all the money in the world. But I think they say once you're over a certain amount, which isn't that high, 4 or 500,000. Once you're over that amount, you don't really get too much more happiness. And I'm sure a lot of her adult life has been. I'm known for something. You know, she. She. A lot of people will attribute her success to her sex tape, which I don't even think is right because there's plenty of people that had fame and didn't turn in. Turn into it what she did. Like, she's a. That whole family is like, great business. Right. But in the end, you know, we've all got our inner child, and maybe she just wants to perform and in society calcifies this. This, like, exoskeleton around us to protect us. And what you see, and I think this is a good thing for all of us, is you see someone who's worth billions of dollars and all she wants is to play on a movie set and probably not even, you know, make much money doing so. And I think that's just a reminder for everyone to try to try to do things in life that you wanted to do as a kid because nothing else matters. Even Kim Kardashian is. Is. Is willing to make herself look stupid on camera. So go take that improv class, do some ballroom danc 2026 and don't be afraid to look stupid because none of this matters.
- [33:57]
Rachel Yucatel
I love that answer. I actually think that's very good advice. Okay, speaking of movie sets, I need your inside scoop on what's going on with Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively.
- [34:08]
Dave Neal
Oh my gosh. Well, so she's, I mean, she's got to prove that there was a smear campaign against her and most of the Internet doesn't believe her.
- [34:19]
Rachel Yucatel
No one ever thought become so unlikable. Do you think she was unlikable because of her of this before?
- [34:25]
Dave Neal
No. I used to do like extra work and background work and my wife and I actually both did on Gossip Girl in New York. You do it on all the shows. They kind of like just call you up and you do all the shows. And she, she looked miserable 20 years ago. She, she truly did. She found her success at an early age. That they always say a lot of people, you're stuck. You stop maturing at the age you became famous. And there's people that handle it well. Well, and then there's people that I think still have an insecurity. And I think, I think from watching her, she wants to be known more than just as an actor. But she was hired to be an actor in a relatively low budget movie that was one of the more successful movies of the year as far as profit margins go. And what you see from a lot of the behind the scenes footage is that she didn't really take direction well. She probably had this power struggle where she felt more, more successful than obviously Baldoni, who was the first time director and star of the movie. And, and it looked like in hindsight she tried to pull a lot of moves in order to make it look like she was harassed on set and that there was a smear campaign when in fact it was probably just the Internet not liking her, which I know a lot about. I've got plenty of people that don't like me online. And you can't control the Internet and the Internet does what the Internet does. And I think she's probably surrounded herself and is insulated with enough yes men that she, she thinks she can do no wrong and doesn't think that it's organic that there's a smear campaign against her. But she was the one who went to the New York Times. They spent months putting together this article before they even asked Baldoni for his last minute statements on it. She created this like sham Subpoena with this, like, defunct company that she had in order to extract text messages that helped proof her case. Case. But it was all, like, unethical. So the more. The more people look into it, I think the more they're on Baldoni's side. And. And I think it was just a bad workplace where. Where the. The whole cast unfollowed Baldoni. And immediately my thought was, well, what did he do wrong? You don't just unfollow people.
- [36:33]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah.
- [36:34]
Dave Neal
And then the more that's uncovered, it's that she was trying to promise them things. She got Brandon Sklinar represented at her agency, her and Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds had all of this power that in the end, they got their own edited version of the movie made. And she had Taylor Swift on her side at the time in order to get a song in the movie. And in the end, it was just like a real. I mean, this is one of the biggest PR clusterfucks ever, because none of this is helping her case. And yet there's so much ego involved that they're still barreling ahead to trial, and there's no way in the world a jury is going to. Is going to think that her allegations meet. You know, what. What they're seeing, what they're going to see with their own eyes, which is that, you know, maybe they didn't get along on set, but, like, you know, she was accusing him of wild things, and then the footage didn't. Didn't live up to the accusations. So having seen all of that, I think it's such a bad look for her. But she keeps doubling and tripling down and.
- [37:38]
Rachel Yucatel
And I.
- [37:40]
Dave Neal
Every lawyer I talked to a year ago or like when, you know, when this thing took off was like, there's no way it's going to go to trial. But they didn't factor in the egos, the unlimited money. That. That isn't taking no for an answer here.
- [37:54]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah. I mean, first of all, were you part of this whole thing where a lot of the creators were given a subpoena?
- [38:02]
Dave Neal
No. And I was so insulted. I was like, I've got big numbers here. We're getting millions of views, and I wasn't included. And I don't know why. Why. And I think. I think there were more females there, more women that were subpoenaed. But Popcorn Planet was. No. I slept. I slept under the radar. And I think part of it was, I'm so sorry. I mean, and again, I was dealing with this other lawsuit, which I was on the right side of. So you never want it. But I also was like, I didn't care if it. I don't think I would have cared too much if it came because, you know, you get to a point where you realize if you do everything on the book books, there's nothing to hide. Blake Lively was alleging that all of these creators were working with Justin Baldoni's attorney to smear Blake Lively. And my thought was like, do you know how we make, like those of us that are getting good, we make good money. They can't afford to pay us. Like Popcorn Planet. They're making Candace Owens. Are you kidding me? She's making it. She's clearing a million dollars a month. How much money? I know know Baldoni's got a billionaire backer, but they don't have that kind of money that's going to tell Candace what to say or think. So it was very. It was very naive of Blake Lively to think that that's how it works. There is astroturfing. I'm super against it, but this wasn't a case. The Internet just did Internet things.
- [39:23]
Rachel Yucatel
Right? So do you think that, like. So the last time I even talked about this was when I had Lauren on my show and she had just been subpoenaed. So what ended up happening with that? I saw that Perez Hilton went out there, who also has been on my show. He went and represented himself. He made a big stink about the whole thing. What ended up happening with that?
- [39:41]
Dave Neal
I think most of it was dropped. I think there are a few people that are still being subpoenaed or are somehow a part of it. Like two or three names. I think Candace Owens. There's Sage Steele. I believe there's some really random people involved. And, you know, there's no. They're not going to like, like I said, there's zero percent chance that it's going to lead to anything. It was a lot of like, Blake side kicking tires.
- [40:06]
Rachel Yucatel
That's what I mean. Don't you think that also all this stuff keeps backfiring her and makes her look worse and worse and worse. First of all, it starts with the video of her in her own mouth. Like, remember that one clip where she was talking to the reporter and the reporter's like, congratulations on your baby bump. And then she. She goes, congratulations on your baby bump or on your bump or whatever. And then refuses to look at the girl again. Just so rude. So, like, from her mouth you can tell that she's terrible. And I think a lot of people before that liked her because she's married to Ryan Reynolds, who's so likable and she's pretty and whatever, and she's done some movies, and she's Taylor Swift's best friend. So women just liked her because of our daughters, who all are obsessed with Taylor. And if. If it's Taylor's best friend, well, she's gotta be amazing, you know? So I think there was a lot of things rolled up into. It seems like a big fall from grace because then she became so unlikeable for that. Then this whole stupid thing of subpoenaing these people. It's like, clearly no one is telling any of these people to pretend that we don't like you. Like, that's just dumb.
- [41:10]
Dave Neal
It's terrible pr. And I think it comes down to her. Her attorneys are making a ton of money and she has a lot of money to burn. So it's. I think it's a case where they just did a lot of different legal filings and they. And yeah, it's. It's wild. I mean, she's. It. She's made the situ situation so much harder for her because she. There's no. There's nobody in Hollywood that's worth that kind of drama for the film projects. They're. They're just. Maybe there's some ultra A listers that bring some baggage and they worth it because they do box office numbers. But Blake was like a serviceable low a lister. You knew her name game. She's gonna do some movie where a shark attacks her on some rock, and you're gonna watch it on streaming services. But she. What? You know, and she was great in the movie. Her and Baldoni had great chemistry. There's a lot of people that looking into the. The human aspect of it say, man, Ryan Reynolds might have been super jealous. And they. They look at his previous relationships where he's been outed by. By previous celebrities of being like, boy, this guy's got some jealousy, some darkness to him. And it could be that he sees this young Hulk, Baldoni's gorgeous throbbing pectorals and Blake Lively's adding kissing scenes. And. And that in some things that were added there and. And maybe, you know, who knows? Who knows?
- [42:33]
Rachel Yucatel
That's a really good point. That's a really good point. But. But it seems like new videos keep coming out. This stupid video of her having all the people come over and look at her sexy boots. And then the fact that we now found out that she like improv and a kiss that wasn't in the scene. So it seems like things keep Trickling out. When are they due in court for this trial? Is it. Is it March of next year?
- [42:54]
Dave Neal
March 2026. And that's what's interesting, right? You see the clip of Blake Lively telling the crew her boots are sexy, and you go, well, what does this. What's the point of this? But when. When it comes down to it, and they present all of the information they're going to use, I believe the culture of what goes on, on a movie set to say, like, Baldoni telling her her jumpsuit is sexy is nothing, because she said these boots are sexy. And Baldoni is the director, producer. He's talking to her for months on end about wardrobe. So of course he's going to comment on her appearance. They don't work at a Kinko's. He's not just like, hey, Samantha, you look good in that pencil skirt. He's. He's communicating a. A video through, talk through visuals through all of these things. So he's. And this is what's, you know, if you're directing a movie and you're starring in it, and he already had the. The, you know, the. What's it called? The intimacy coordinator. Even with all of these parameters, you still see how dicey it can get because not just the egos you're working with, but how vulnerable. I've said this about Blake Lively, like, you want to give her an out. She was like, two months after having a baby. You know, if. If she ever did want to say, you know what, I read the room wrong. She could say, well, the publicist, they sent me these emails that said there was a smear campaign. So I thought there was. It turns out I was coming off the wrong way. I'm going to do some thinking. I'm going to go take some time off and be with family. There's so many ways she can get out of this, but she believes she was harassed. And there's just no way it's going to live up to the. The claim she's made. I mean, they. They went so far as to call him a sexual predator at one point. And the battles that are played out through PR that go back and forth are so dodgy. Her PR person, as it turns out, is just a monster. I mean, seemingly a monster of a person. I mean, willing to, like, do. Do real unethical stuff to. To. To get a workplace communications exposed. That's what they did, that sham subpoena. They created this fake lawsuit just to extract these text messages. And then the second they got the text messages, they dropped the fake lawsuit and the. And. And it's like, how are they allowed to do this? You know? And I think that's all gonna play out through a very long trial, if it gets that far. And. Cause everyone says, well, what? You know, will they settle? But it's like, who's gonna settle? Settle? Baldoni's not going to settle because his whole livelihood is. Has been on hold until this. Like, he's not going to work ever again unless he's producing a project, period. Like, just no one's going to want to deal with it. And he has to deal with that. And that's why he's fighting it to the, like, metaphorical grave.
- [45:28]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah. As he should. I mean, I don't think if there was a settlement to be had there, if he just let it lie without going to trial, I think it would be terrible for him and for her. I do think you're right. I actually think if she took a moment. Moment apologized, took a sheet out of whether. Whether it's New York Times or somewhere else, and just said, listen, I've thought about this. I made a mistake. You know, let's move on. Essentially, I think it would really blow over. It might be two days of like, holy shit, what just happened? But it would be like, okay, it's over, and then we can move on from it. I think that would be the best thing she could do. But I, I do think this trial will happen. I think it's going to be like, like, you know, the whole Johnny, John Depp and Johnny Depp and Amber Heard thing. People are just going to become obsessed and literally hate one or the other. I mean, remember how much hatred was going on during that trial?
- [46:21]
Dave Neal
That was wild that they had the cameras up and that they were like. I mean, it was. Yeah. I mean, I said, for this trial, I'll be it. I'll be in New York to cover it. I'll take my family there for the month and cover it because it, It's, It's. It's interesting and it plays into this astroturfing that happens online and what's real and what's not, we. We see this happen politically where you can. You can hire a company that's going to astroturf you. And when I say astroturfing, for those that don't know, it's like grassroots but fake. So creating bots to push a. An agenda. That's not true. We see it a lot with healthcare industries, where there's a lot of money that gets spent on astroturfing. To prevent people from wanting like systemic change to make the world the better because it's worth it for them to spend a lot of money to keep us, you know, hating each other. You know, you see, you see that play out and you see it with celebrity. The old guard, the ability that you could contact a page 6 and run a story and, and I hate to say it, but it still works. Like people consume headlines and they get their news that way. I think it makes, you know, podcasting that more powerful because we like our audiences generally reject that spoon fed like gossip. But we're still, still, we're still living in a world where half the, half the consumers grew up in a world that was before social media where you just had to take whatever gossip told you. Like the Britney Spears that, that era, like it was a nightmare. And people like Perez Hilton, right, he was and he's apologized but he, he contributed to that, that real like objectification of celebrity. And now we're living in a world that's I think becoming more empathetic but you know, we're not there entirely. And you're seeing audiences is rally between the two. I, I've personally been close to this because I know people that are very close to Baldoni just from living in that area. And I've done standup shows where people have come up to me after and said, oh we're, we're really close friends with them. You know, they're devastated. You know, they're just trying to push through. So this idea that they try to make it like a man versus a woman. I think there's more female victims on Baldoni side. People that have had like his wife and his producers wives and what they've all had to deal with and, and especially the, the PR ladies, they've had their lives pretty much ended because of this. And you know, so it's not as simple as like, oh, she's some sort of like actress who got smeared. She's the power structure here.
- [48:49]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah, it's interesting. I think she's definitely becoming the, the, the new Meghan Markle that everyone just cannot stand her and hates her. Which, speaking of which, let's talk about that for a second. She was seen at Kris Jenner's 70th birthday party held out at the Bezos estate. And there the list of people that attended was beyond insane. Did you read about that?
- [49:14]
Dave Neal
I saw a few. I mean, I know, I know it's like everyone who attended that wedding got a lot of heat. I'm, I'm, I'M a big anti billionaire. I mean, it's wild that a guy who, who ran a Internet bookstore is this powerful. I'm sorry, like, I don't, I don't like, like it. I, I don't like. He's. There's an election happening in Tennessee, a special election, and Amazon paid a lot of, paid millions of dollars to go against the candidate that I like. And I, I just don't think we should live in a world where anyone has that much power. I don't, I don't like it. So as far as like people attending, it's just funny. It's like when you have that much power, celebrity attaches to it because he can decide who the next James Bond villain is going to be. Oh, I want Sydney Sweeney. Well, come back in three years. You're going to see your eyes. The Bond villain. And it's like, it's like that. I mean, you know, whatever. I don't know, just, you know, do what you want. Just pay your fair share of taxes, I guess.
- [50:07]
Rachel Yucatel
Right, right. Well, I find it interesting that it, they showed a lot. I have a friend who was the paparazzi that caught all these people that went in. And I saw his Instagram and his feeds of all the people that went in. But I did find it weird that such a, how do I say this in a nice way? This pick me group of people. Jeff Bezos, his wife Lauren, who loves to post about all her celebrity friends, has not yet posted about went on at this birthday or who was there at her home, blah, blah, blah. We know that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were invited. We know that they showed up. They were on the carousel feed that the Kardashians had about the birthday. Somehow that feed was taken down and that one photo of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry was removed and everyone else was put back up. So do you find that suspicious or fascinating or anything?
- [50:53]
Dave Neal
All right, so I'm going to go to bat as someone who's not really educated on this, I'm going to go to bat for Meghan Markle. Markle and, and Prince Harry. I think Prince Harry's a hero and I actually really like that he didn't get sucked into the royal like, silence that, that, like that the whole family has, you know, like the whole, like Prince Andrew, that whole, the whole royal family covered up a lot of crazy stuff. For a long time. Princess Diana had to deal with living like she's a good example of living in a time before you could have your voice and, and, and here's what I'll give Meghan Markle credit for. She's like, I'm not marrying into that. And people hated her. I'm. I don't. I'm sure some of it was racism. I don't know what a lot of it was. But I, I worked with her briefly. I shot the pilot for Suits. I worked on that when it shot in New York before it moved to Canada years ago. She was perfectly fine. I think her personality type might be like a Pam Anderson, which is like, go to Malibu and bake some muffins and in. And she doesn't do well in the, in the sort of theater that you have to play in Hollywood. That's my opinion. I don't know, maybe I'm missing something.
- [52:02]
Rachel Yucatel
About the hate on her, but I completely agree. I've never understood. Listen, I've seen those stupid podcasts with her where she talks really slow and she's always, you know, talking about her kids and her husband and how much in love they are. I'd like her to. And she's always baking something. I'd like her to be a little more. But at the end of the day, everyone fucking hates her and they say terrible things about her. And we loved her for like a second thinking, oh my God, some random chick who's half black and who was on this lame show kind of. Which by the way, I thought was really good, but that was this random show could all of a sudden become a princess. How amazing. And then they fucking hated her.
- [52:41]
Dave Neal
I know. As Americans we should have rallied like, we got your royal, like your sub, second in line. We got Prince Harry. The cool, the better looking prince. Yeah, God bless him, right, that his older brother didn't. But we got the good one. We got the one with the hair and the, you know. And yeah, I mean, I don't know. I think, I think it comes down to this. I think we like to build can sandcastles and then we like to kick them down. And no one had a problem with her when she was on Suits. But you know, you're. You're a pretty woman who starts to have an opinion on that. I'll tell the you this. My wife, beautiful, kind, quiet introvert. My wife will choose to watch Meghan Markle show watching her make truffles 100 days out of 100 versus watching Bravo. Some people feed off of being in that fight and some people just want to watch you make a lemon tart. There's just different people out there and I don't know, it's like if Netflix wants to give Meghan Markle a hell of a lot of money, money I don't like. I don't know what Megan's done that's hurt anybody. I'll look at Jeff Bezos and I'll tell you about the, the thousands of business that have gone out and how bad it is for the environment, that it's nothing but, you know, Amazon planes over my head, you know, so also we can get, you know, same day delivery on, you know, butt cream. But again, I don't know, it's like, it's like we're, it's like, yeah. So she, she struck it rich and now she wants to protect her family.
- [54:07]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah.
- [54:07]
Dave Neal
And none of us know. I mean, maybe you might know a little bit about this, but like, I don't know what it's like to have a photo, a camera guy in the bushes with a young kid. But like that mama bear attitude. She just wants to, you know, protect, you know, nothing she says will ever change anyone's opinion.
- [54:24]
Rachel Yucatel
Prince Harry, by the way, people forget her husband's mother died that way. So of course she should be regardless of what happens with her. And being a mama bear of her own, she has is that close to it because her husband's mother died, you know, so like, you would think that people would have empathy and they just don't.
- [54:42]
Dave Neal
I'm telling you this, like, I get goosebumps thinking about Prince Harry because he's my age. And my mom, my mom was like obsessed with Princess Diana. It was like I never understood that royal connection that people had. But like, Princess Diana was like a kind person. She, like her legacy from what people said has been really amazing. Like what, you know, you hear a lot of great things that she was trying to do. And I think of Prince Harry, I think I have an 18 month old boy and I think of that inner child. It always comes back to this with me. It's like learning to try to get back to like being that inner child. And all Prince Harry wanted to do was like, be one of the guys. Did he make mistakes? Did he dress up as the wrong character on Halloween? Did he get in the tabloids for he, he was like, he was like kind of trying to push out of that bubble for so long and then he was kind of given this chance to live a life outside of, of that. And I'm, I don't know, I don't think he regrets it, but like, to, to like, just to push away all of the royal, like that royal carrot stick that dangles all of life's everything. You want to push that away. And again, obviously, they live in a nice. They have a nice, like, lifestyle and all of that, but I don't think any of that matters when you're worried about, are your kids protected. But he probably realizes risking. Risking my safety and putting my kids in a normal environment or semi normal normal, because what, I mean, Hollywood's not normal, but it's got to be a little bit more normal than the royal family. That's a whole nother. Like, why do we idolize that? You know, like when that. When the crown jewels were stolen from the Louvre. These are the French crown jewels. I researched him as a comedian. I was like, what's my angle? Because I'm kind of okay. I'm kind of okay with them stealing these things. And it's like, yeah, these were. Some of these jewels were like, Napoleon gave them to his second wife. Why am I supposed to care? Well, there are heirlooms. Okay, sure, whatever. But, like, what about the guy who broke in and stole him? What about his family? I'm kind of like that, you know, I don't know, maybe I'm. I'm sort of a little bit of, you know, for the common man here, but I see Prince Harry as like, gosh, man, this guy, like, he is living proof that this whole, like, royal world you can be given is just a set of handcuffs. And God bless them, hopefully for like, like branching out from that.
- [57:00]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah, you're right. And by the way, I could see them making a comedy movie about what happened with those guys. The common men that stole those jewels, hiked up the side and probably were like, can you fucking believe we got away with this in broad daylight? You know, like, how kind of genius are those guys?
- [57:20]
Dave Neal
Apparently they were pretty hot, a few of them. But I'll tell you what, if I had to imagine I would get any negative comments from this chat, it might be over the Meghan Markle stuff, because people are strong on that one and they're going to send me. Well, she's this, she's that. I think my guess is she's an introvert who's done being in front of the camera. You know, I think I got. She's got Pam Anderson energy.
- [57:41]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah. And guys, I would also remind you, you don't know her. So the people that like to join into chats and be like, well, she did this, she did that. Unless you really have met her personally, you don't. You don't know. And people forget that. That. Imagine how hard it is for her to go to sleep at night. I just feel like she's got to feel so much hatred. Good for her for getting up every day and being with her family and, you know, all the power.
- [58:04]
Dave Neal
And you probably know something about this. You're. You're a beautiful woman. Like, God forbid, you're at a Starbucks not smiling, and someone's like, oh, Rachel's. She's in a bitchy mood. It's like, no, you just. When you're beautiful and you're not smiling, you just look like a. I mean, I'm not saying. Speaking of me, but women have it rough out there, and I think. I'm sure Megan's kind of that way where it's like, if you don't present this certain way, it's like, oh, what's up your ass? And it's like, I don't know. She's probably just thinking about, like, I don't know what, you know, Sue Fleiss she's gonna make on her next season of. You know what I mean? Like, she's just a human.
- [58:37]
Rachel Yucatel
Totally. It's not about you, everybody. She does have a life that she's leading. Exactly. All right. You brought up Candace Owen, which, you know, for a long time, I did not listen to her. She was very on one side. She is the face of the Conservative Party. She has gotten funnier and funnier. I mean, since the. Since when she was bringing up Macron's wife, who she still insists is a man, and went down that whole rabbit hole, which everyone's like, are you crazy? And now everyone, like, believes her, and she's getting sued and she's in all sorts of hot water. And now she has such strong, strong views about the Charlie Kirk assassination, which, by the way, I kind of see and I agree with. I thought. My first reaction, and no one wanted to listen to me, so I just shut my mouth about it. I mean, I would never say it. Like, I didn't have, like, an episode on it, but watching his wife, Erica Kirk, come out on stage and make her comments, I was like, what's happening? This seems weird. Why is no one talking? I actually Googled it. I was like, what are people saying about this woman? Did she do it? Like, I didn't understand why no one else felt like her immediate speech at his funeral was beyond bizarre. I mean, did. What are your thoughts?
- [59:50]
Dave Neal
I mean, that was. Yeah, was a campaign rally. There was fireworks. They had the pyrotechnics. It's like. It's like. I mean, My thought is this. There is very little that I would have agreed with Charlie Kirk on. I think the one thing I could think of was we both believe that there should be. We should take private equity out of home buying. Like, private equity owns everything and they destroy everything because it's like quick profits and whatever. So that was it. I'll stick by that. But I'm a big First Amendment guy, and they're in the First Amendment. It's like if he wants to hold rallies where he talks about what he talks about. Same thing with Candace Owens. Like it. If Candace wants to make claims that the French president's wife was born a man, it like, you're starting to get into territory where. And I'm covering this case closely. You got to be careful. Like, she's now getting sued for an undisclosed amount, but it will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Yeah, Candace Owens is worth a lot of money. Her husband's extremely wealthy. They're in the $100 million club for sure.
- [60:49]
Rachel Yucatel
So you better have receipts to show if you're going to say that, because that is defamation. I mean, it's terrible.
- [60:55]
Dave Neal
Right? And that's what it comes down to is what has been alleged in the defamation suit against her is very different than the story she's told. They've. They've said they've provided her evidence to have her, you know, and so we'll have to see how it plays out. And I like it when the system plays out, because, you know, defamation is extremely hard to prove. But she's starting to take this. This idea. She's like, I'm just a mom in the basement. It's like, no, you're Candace Owens. You're the Joe Rogan of conservative podcasting. I like that she's asking questions with the Charlie Kirk stuff and Epstein and all and all of that. I like that because we live in a time where we are weaponizing the Department of Justice. They are deciding what, you know, to make theater out of this. They did make it a pr. Like a very bizarre PR stunt when they did the binders of Epstein files. There is more to the story out there that they're not letting us know. And unlike some people, like, on the right, you know, like. Like Trump says, well, we're gonna get. We're gonna prosecute all the Democrats that are in the Epstein files. I don't know anyone in real life that. That isn't saying, prosecute everybody in the Epstein files. I don't care if it's Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Bill Nye the Science Guy, if you're in there and not just in there for like, you know, normal whatever business, but if you're in there, you get a fair trial. But I'm all about due process and, you know, but do it. And Epstein was let off the hook 20 years ago in Europe. Your town, right. The county prosecutors in Palm Beach, I don't know the full story, but like, they, they did not even come close to charging with the crimes. Ghislaine Maxwell is the only one in jail. She's a sex offender and yet she's in, you know, she has like, they give her a puppy, she's got a puppy, she's in Club Fed. So there's a lot, there's a lot going on. I don't know if Trump's, you know, I don't know what, how far it goes, but, you know, there's a lot of, you know, the rich people, they're laundering money through their properties there, there's a whole there, it's a whole club that we're not invited to. And, and I don't have any problem calling that out because it's not like I live in a red state. You know, I've lived in kind of like blue, like New England, then LA my whole life. I've spent the last two years in Tennessee. I do all these shows in like, rural areas. I have no problem saying my opinions and I think most people agree, like our tax money should go towards helping everyday Americans, whether you're a single mom or a small time farmer. Like, like this idea of making the country great is a great idea. It's just we're not living up to that. And the reason why things like Epstein and Charlie Kirk are so big is because Charlie Kirk was starting to expose or was a part of this movement that, that doesn't like that another country spends all of this money on all of our political leaders, that being the lobbyist group aipac. And then if you call out this country Israel, everyone calls you anti Semitic. And I think Candace actually does say things that are anti Semitic, but that's not it calling out, you know, and so for her to expose Charlie Kirk, it goes deep, right? But for her to expose that he was starting to have a lot of, of his Israeli or Jewish donors pulling out, I think that's very interesting. I don't think there's any evidence of who killed Charlie Kirk, but I definitely think the Department of Justice was really quick to make this a political issue and I don't think that it is. And I hope that Candace does that work and shows that math because I don't trust that other people are getting it right either. So I'm with of those First Amendment, if you don't like what she has to say, make a YouTube video with your response to it. And I've been like, it's a tight, trust me, it's a tight needle to thread. But as a progressive guy, I've been covering it. And for the most part, I think, I think people like my opinions on it, which is like, look at like the Constitution's on fire. Forget all of the, like, the sort of woke fights that everyone wants us to be a part of. Let's go back to the basics. Let's go back to, like, people get a fair shot in court. Let's go back to. Back to not, you know, getting money out of all of the political arenas that cause people to not be, you know, doing the right thing for Americans. Hopefully Candace is starting to see that. I know Marjorie Taylor Greene. She's like, got the same problem as everyone else. She's saying, my health care costs are going through the roof. What are we doing here? I don't care. What if you're an R or D, like, solve it. Solve the issue.
- [65:12]
Rachel Yucatel
Right. Well, and it's interesting because this is the first time that she has kind of seemed like she's right down the middle. And now it seems that Donald Trump over the weekend has essentially broken up up with her because it's one of the first times she's really come out and been like, let's get these Epstein, Epstein files out. My health care is going through the roof. Like, all these things where she's starting to kind of get it. And we all thought she was crazy up until now, or at least.
- [65:35]
Dave Neal
And it's like, maybe she is with other things, but if she's going to come to the table, which this is the. Like, I always say this about Mr. Beast. He does these great videos. I really love his business model. Like, I'm going to go fix a thousand people's hearings. I'm going to help a thousand amputees. Like, getting people affordable health care is the number one way to help out the most amount of people. And I don't. I'm not like, I'm not practicing religious, but I was raised Catholic. I have an uncle who's a priest. My whole family's like, pretty Catholic. And I'm just like, I challenge people to live up to the words of what Jesus Christ wanted, not what a lot of crazy people have Used. They've hijacked the religion to just say things. And maybe Charlie Kirk was a part of, of this, but like, they've hijacked it to. And Candace, Candace is like a big, you know, I don't even know if she's homophobic, but she's like, it's, you got, it's heterosexual only. It's like, go to a drag bar and tell me those people are a problem. Let everyone live their life, you know, like, are you kidding me right now? Some of the most love I've ever been actually was on a Ryan Murphy set. I worked on Normal Heart, a movie about the AIDS epidemic. And like, there was so much love, love in, in making that movie or that miniseries because there was, there was this whole group of people that lived in so much fear because no one was helping them. And, and, and it was so toxic to even to like associate with a gay person at that time. It's just crazy to think that a lot of the issues we have in life are fear based. And, and I think Marjorie Taylor Greene and Candace and people are realizing, like, let's talk about the bigger issues that bring us together. I mean, because I think the appetite for tearing us apart. I think we're exhausted more by that and I think, I think we're exhausted by a billionaire telling us what to care about. And I mean my, I, I, I do well, but my insurance is going up $7,000 a year and, and it's like, I don't get any, like, it's, it's like 20 grand a year. What? And then, and then you got to pay another 60 grand to get up to the. When we had a baby, we don't even know what it cost because the bills came in from so many different angles that like, you don't even know. Like, I, my wife shouldn't be in the delivery room. And I got to ask the epidemiology or the, with the epidural guy, what's his name? Anesthesiologist. I got to ask him if he's in my network. It's like, what, what world do we live in that this, these are the conversations. And hopefully this, hopefully the despair we see will, will lead to candidates coming up and finally doing what's right for all of us. And these conversations lead to a lot of hate online. But I, I went hard from the pop culture world to talking about these in the last year. And for every person I've lost, I've gained five. Five that find it extremely reasonable. And Candace has a, she's got a brand of an audience that, that you would think is pretty tough, but they've, they've been listening to me. They, they didn't want me to judge the McCrone thing until I watched the documentary. So I said, you know what? I'll watch it. And then, and then I judge and I met them where they are. I think, I think Candace is in a, in a heap of trouble over it. But, you know, she, she's also a part of a culture of cancellation where Candace was canceled a long time ago from the left. And I think something happens in the brain that is similar to what football players go through with traumatic brain injury, where football players get CTE and, and others do. Chris Benoit, you know, was a, was a wrestler who murdered his wife, family and killed himself. It was a terrible story. And then they found out afterwards his brain was mush. And people that get canceled, it rewires you to, like, be on guard and think a certain way. So Candace still has a lot to offer this world. She's the loudest voice on that side of the aisle. And I'm glad that she's not, you know, an echo chamber for the president. I'm glad that even if she's on the wrong side of a story, that she's coming to it, I think, from her own unbought perspective. And I appreciate that, even if it's different than mine.
- [69:28]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah, right. I completely agree with you. You've been covering the Epstein thing for a while now. What do you, what's your prediction on how this is going to turn out? Over the weekend, President Trump made a 180 and said, oh, let's get these files released. What do you think is going to happen?
- [69:44]
Dave Neal
The general working theory that I think makes most sense is Trump's play will be to open up a new investigation that delays the release of it, which I think will cause more speculation. I think what will happen in the end, you know, whether, whether it's sooner than later, is files will come out. I think Epstein, I don't think there'll be a smoking gun the way they want them to be. I think there's, like, they say there's everything. They've. All these rumors have been true so far. There's photos of Trump with, you know, topless women. Are they underage? I don't know. There's going to be a lot of that lifestyle exposed. That should look very bad. He has been caught in a lie already, you know, saying, I didn't know the guy since years ago ago. That's not my signature, which clearly was. He was part of Epstein's, like, 50th birthday or whatever. So I don't understand, like, Trump gets away with a lot by just saying it out loud. So the fact he's hiding this, I think a lot of the Democrats had, had written off the Epstein files and thought, you know, hey, there must be nothing there. But a lot of people say, well, why didn't they release all this during the Biden administration? It was an active investigation. And then all of a sudden, Pam Bonnie goes, we're done. And everyone's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You cannot give this audience that kind of answer after running on a platform of releasing it. So, yeah, I think, I think Trump probably doesn't even know half the stuff that's in there. But we know for a fact he had 800 feds that he, that he took them off their assignments to scour all the files and find out where he was mentioned. There was literally. And you know, when I talk about, like, pop culture intersecting with politics, it's like, how does it not. This reality world we live in is insane. There was a, an employee who was just exposed undercover admitting that the Republicans plan was to redact their names from the Epstein files. And the reason they caught him, God bless men in our balls, is that they used this lady on a dating app to match with this guy, and they went on a date. Did you see this video?
- [71:47]
Rachel Yucatel
No.
- [71:47]
Dave Neal
It's on video. It's literally, there's like, no denying it. It's on video. He said, this is what they're going to do. And he was just talking. I mean, he was just, you know, saying what you say, you know, trying to laid and everything, right? Like there's. And I think whatever the foundation was that does this investigative work, they've used measures to infiltrate and they used a little Trojan horse, you know, lady to, to take him on a date and be like, what's the deal with that anyway? And it's. I cover. I covered it on my show today. I covered happened two months ago. And it's coming back into sight now that people are going, why does Trump want this released? And I think part of it is also, like, he's, he's not an idiot. He knows when they're behind him and not. And it's like, it's like that whole, like, you can't fire me. I quit. So he knows he's lost. Like, he tried to get Lauren Boebert in the Situation Room and, and get her to change her vote he knew he couldn't do Marjorie, so now he's smearing her. Like, you see this game played out from a mile and a half away. I always remind people, like, is this lower in your grocery prices? All of this work they did to get rid of all of these woke program that were feeding kids in other countries. Elon Musk just became a trillionaire. And a lot of people are dying because a lot of programs were stripped away. Like Nashville, Tennessee. Like, I can't tell you how many farmers are screwed right now. And it's like you just want them to know why they're being screwed. And it's be. It's because they're not. They're taking away this social safety net that, like, farmers are subsidized more than anybody else. And yet we have it in our mind. Mind that there's some black lady in New York City that's taking. That's, you know, I just lost my.
- [73:30]
Rachel Yucatel
That's okay.
- [73:31]
Dave Neal
Podcasting problems.
- [73:32]
Rachel Yucatel
Happens to the best of us.
- [73:33]
Dave Neal
Yeah. So the, the idea behind the rant is, you know, people sometimes tune out when you hear about politics, but it really is about, like, you know, we're all in this game together. And whether it's Epstein files or some of these other things that podcasters are talking about, it's about wanting transparency. It's one. It's about wanting to hold people accountable. And I, I can't speak for anybody else, but I want everyone who's guilty of something criminal in there, I want them to never work a day again. And, you know, if we have to go scorched earth to make that happen better sooner than later because no one believes in the system anymore.
- [74:04]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah, I totally agree. And it'll be interesting to see what finally happens with this. It's been going on for long enough. It would be really nice to. To get some results, to really see what's going on and why people don't want the truth out. Even when this administration has come to, you know, to fruition on the fact that they talked all about transparency and it's the one thing that they don't, they're not really showing. So anyway, Dave Neal, it's been a pleasure to speak to you to get all your thoughts and opinions on things, tell people where they can listen to your podcast and see more from you.
- [74:36]
Dave Neal
Yeah, you can go to my Instagram D. Neals or just search the Rush Hour with Dave Neal YouTube anywhere you listen to audio. And you can go to rush hourwithdave.com if you want to sign up to my newsletter or see me perform standup. I got shows coming up in New York and all over. So, yeah, it's been great chatting with you. It was a lot of fun.
- [74:53]
Rachel Yucatel
Amazing. Last question. Do you have something that's on your radar, that note that, like, you're not covering yet that you're kind of obsessed with?
- [75:00]
Dave Neal
Well, it was this Jeremy Renner story, but I don't, I don't, I don't know what direction it's going in. Have you heard this one? He was accused of, by a director of, of saying that he was going to call Ice on her. I think she might be Chinese born.
- [75:15]
Rachel Yucatel
Yeah.
- [75:16]
Dave Neal
I don't know. The more I look at her Instagram, the more I'm suspicious of the story because she's a little manic. But I'm following it because there is a lawsuit. He is suing her over it and she said they've come to an agreement and his side says they haven't. So we're going to see how that one plays out.
- [75:34]
Rachel Yucatel
All right, awesome. We'll definitely be following it. We'll make sure that everyone knows in their, in our show notes how they can reach you. Thank you. It's been such a, A pleasure.
- [75:41]
Dave Neal
Oh, thanks again.
- [75:49]
Rachel Yucatel
Thank you so much for listening to Misunderstood. I'm your host, Rachel Yukitel. Please be sure to subscribe to the show and give us a five star rating and review. You can support the show by joining our patreon@patreon.com misunderstood with Rachel Ukitel. Do you have ideas for the show or want to reach out? Email us@infomisunderstoodpodcastmail.com that's spelled M I S S. Understood. Thank you so much and I'll see you next time.